african-american senator from the south, period, since the post civil war reconstruction era. big news stories like what happened in connecticut, of course, tend to cast a shadow on all the other news out there, and understandably so, but there was lots of other news out there today. "first look" is next. s. right now on "first look" two of the youngest victims are laid to rest as new details emerge this morning about connecticut shooter adam lanza. his relationship with his estranged father and his mother's pesky alimony check. gun sales may be on the rise in the wake of sandy hook as more and more gun advocates changing their mind. all that, plus comfort dogs in newtown, obama and boehner wheel and deal. good morning. this morning we're learning more about adam lanza, the troubled 20-year-old who took the lives of 27 people last week including new details with his relationship with parents. adam's parents separated in 2001

and later divorced in 2009. though they shared custody, peter lanza said adam lanza stopped visiting him and cut off all conversation with him in 2010. that was around the time that peter lanza began dating his new wife. according to divoce documents obtained by nbc news, peter lanza paid his ex-wife nancy just under $200,000 in alimony in 2012. friends say nancy lanza had not been working in recent years. the "new york times" is reporting adam lanza had, quote, no connections to the school where friday's massacre occurred. students in newtown, connecticut are returning to school this morning for the first time since the shooting massacre. meanwhile, more families will hold funerals. nbc's danielle leigh joins us from newtown. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. just over my shoulder, you may be able to make out a christmas tree marking the memorial that

has become the focal point of this little town. it's something those going to class today will drive by, and it will be a reminder that some thing also never be the same. each day long lines of cars bring thousands of tearful mourners to this little town. they're carrying candles, stuffed animals and laying them at this christmas tree. anything to honor the 26 victims from sandy hook elementary. >> felt kind of helpless at home. felt we needed to do something. >> reporter: this morning brings one step towards healing as students go back to class, but not sandy hook. police have indefinitely locked down the school while their investigation continues. the district is preparing a middle school in a neighboring town. >> i'm not sure we will ever get back to normal. whatever we can do to head that way, we want to start doing that. >> reporter: today also marks another round of grief as families continue to bury their

loved ones. among the services today, a viewing for vicky soto, the teacher who died shielding her students. >> what do you say to this family? it's extremely difficult. >> reporter: investigators confirm the shooter had visited multiple gun ranges ahead of the massacre. they say he went with his mother, the first victim of his rampage and legal owner of the guns. police have also obtained a broken computer found in his mother's home. but determining the motive may still be tedious. >> we will do everything that it takes to ensure that we uncover every bit of evidence. >> reporter: so this community comes together and waits for answers. >> seeing the town come together like this is amazing. i'm proud to say i'm from here. >> reporter: hoping their loss won't be in vain. school officials in monroe say

they could have their school ready for those sandy hook students in about a day. but it's still unclear when those students will return to class. reporting in newtown, connecticut, i'm daniel leigh, back to you. >> thank you. it may be surprising to some, but in the wake of friday's devastating shooting rampage, gun retailers across the country are reporting a surge of gun sales due to fears of stricter gun control laws. haas night nancy pelosi called for just that. >> the voices of reason cannot be silent. through administrative action we must limit the proliferation of weapons and ammunitions that have no other purpose than to kill citizens. >> as the debate over gun control heats up, the newtown tragedy could be a new tipping point for some pro gun control lawmakers. >> reporter: the numbers are striking, 8,500 people die each year in gun violence. since columbine, nearly 14 years ago, more than 30 mass murders

involving guns. the list is chilling. >> shame on nra. >> reporter: as protesters gathered outside offices in washington, the nra again declined to comment on the debate, but there were signs that the sandy hook massacre has impacted capitol hill. >> as your senator i will protect our second amendment rights. >> reporter: west virginia senator, joe manchin, a life-long nra member said he is rethinking his own positions. >> i don't know anybody that goes hunting with an assault rifle. i don't know anybody that needs those types of multiple clips as far as ammunition. >> reporter: and former republican congressman, joe scarborough, now an msnbc host also reversed himself on gun control. >> politicians can no longer be allowed to defend the status quo. they must instead be forced to defend our children. >> reporter: but at least one texas republican continues to defend the right of americans to own assault weapons. >> it ensures against the

tyranny of the government. >> reporter: amid the talk of gun control, gun sales have picked up. in portland, just a week after a gunman killed two in an area mall. >> yesterday was the biggest day we've ever done in 20 years. today will probably eclipse that. >> reporter: gun control off washington's agenda for a decade, suddenly front and center. as the bereaved residents of newtown try to process this horrific tragedy, a group of specially trained helpers have arrived. ten golden retriever comfort dogs were sent by a church group in chicago to offer unconditional love and support. children and parents in mourning say petting the dogs gives them some relief in sadness. we have some good information about richard engel who was reporting in the middle east. it says after being kidnapped and held for nearly five days

inside syria by an unknown group, richard engel and his production crew have been freed and unharmed. >> here is your first look at scrambled politics. as anti-gun advocates rallied, the nra took down its facebook page. the group has not commented on the school shootings in connecticut. bill chummily is proposing a bill that would criminalize implementation of barack obama's 2010 health care law. senator john kerry of massachusetts suspected to be president obama's choice to replace secretary of state hillary clinton, but because of the connecticut shootings the announcement will be delayed until later this week. some top newspapers are complaining about the mitt romney campaign sending them bills for reporters covering the

campaign. they say they were egregious charges for meals and $745 for a vice presidential debate viewing party. and former italian prime minister silvia berlusconi told a tv interviewer that he's engaged to be married. that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. now for a look at the weather, we turn to bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning. good morning. welcome. >> thank you. >> our new anchor at "first look". >> it's very good to be here. >> richard engel story -- >> i'm so relieved. a friend, a phenomenal person. >> five days, we had no clue. when he comes back and tells the story of what happened -- >> yeah. >> can't miss tv. >> absolutely. >> good morning. we have two storms to talk about as we go throughout the morning. one is the heavy rain heading up through new england. it's rain, not snow, which is rare for this time of year.

and we are dealing with a new storm, a major winter storm as it goes through the mountains of the rockies today and through the plains tomorrow. let's start with what's happening in the northeast. that heavy rain has exited the new york city area, starting to exit long island, too. from new york city southward, philly, d.c., a shower today, mainly dry. but 84, the mass pike, all of this region dealing with extremely heavy rain. the temperatures are warm enough, we don't have to worry about the roads. only in new hampshire and maine will deal with snow and sleet. the next storm is on its heels. this one providing snow in areas of utah. then it heads out to the plains. these are blizzard watches in effect for areas of kansas. this is a serious storm. then this stripe of heavy snow on the backside of it through wisconsin, nebraska and iowa. these are my first updateds from my computer of how much snow we could get. not a lot in denver, but from

omaha, lincoln, des moines, ames, madison, green bay, you could have 6 to 12 inches of snow possible by the time it's done thursday night. the rain this morning will be exiting. the southeast is just fine. the midwest, you have one nice day today, and then that snowstorm is coming tomorrow. 6 to 12 inches, it looks like those areas will be guaranteed a white christmas. >> that's good for them. some people like that thing. stocks jump on promising details out of obama and boehner's fiscal cliff negotiations, and walmart rethinks bushmaster guns. and for the first time this year, gas prices in all 50 states below $4, and in some states almost below $3. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.

your soups are so awesomely delicious my husband and i can't stop eating 'em! what's...that... on your head? can curlers! tomato basil, potato with bacon... we've got a lot of empty cans. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

house republican leaders say a new proposal from president obama to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff is a small step in the right direction. it includes higher tax rates on

incomes of $400,000 instead of $250,000, the first change in the white house proposal. senator daniel inouye of hawaii has died at the age of 88 after serving in congress since his election in 1959. senator patrick leahy of vermont takes over as president pro-tem of the senate, third in line to the presidency. before his death, inouye recommended a successor, but the governor will have to make that call. nikki haley chose tim scott as the state's next senator, replacing jim demint. that makes scott the state's first black senator since reconstruction. since the mission was complete, two nasa spacecraft named ebb and flow were inen it shunally crashed into the moon yesterday. they circled the moon almost a year mapping the lunar gravity field and the area where they crashed was not one where others had landed before. over to wall street. the dow opens at 13,235

after rising 100 points yesterday. the s&p climbed 16. and the nasdaq jumped 39. overseas, the nikkei gained 94 points, but the hang seng lost 18. traders paused for a moment of silence monday to remember the 27 killed friday in newtown. later, as broader markets rose on encouraging fiscal cliff talks, stocks of gunmakers continued to slide. smith & wesson down 8% since friday's mass shooting. pension giant california state teachers' retirement system is reviewing a $500 million investment with private equity firm calsirs. meanwhile, walmart has pulled that same assault rifle used by adam lanza from its stores. and dick's sporting goods has stopped selling guns at its store nearest to newtown, connecticut. and gas prices are falling. the national average is just under $3.25 a gallon.

for the first time this year, all 50 states have gas below $4. banks rose monday and some analysts predict cash flush financials could see a record fourth quarter. morgan stanley was fined $5 million for improperly handling its ipo. apple is said to be in talks to integrate local data from foursquare to bolster its mapping app. and according to businesstrader.com, the ipad mini is outselling its bigger brother by a margin of 2-1. hasbro says it will start selling gender neutral easy bake ov ovens, after a petition. and forbes is out with its 30

under 30. among them are mark zuckerberg, pittsburgh rapper whiz kalifi is on the list after a quarter century, gabby douglas made the cut, and a special shout-out to blogger, columnist and msnbc contributor, ezra klein. well, the nra is feeling the heat after the aftermath of sund sandy hook. t. the giants don't have a mascot! ohhh! eat up! new jammin jerk chicken soup has tasty pieces of chicken with rice and beans. hmmm. for giant hunger! thanks mom! see ya! whoaa...oops! mom? i'm ok. grandma? hi sweetie! she operates the head. [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. it fills you up right.

here's your "first look" at some other news going on around america. out west, the tragic connecticut shooting inspired an astounding number of gun owners to turn in their firearms. over two days police in oakland and san francisco received 596 guns, $200 cash was given for each gun until the cash reserve ran out forcing organizers to hand out vouchers. illinois authorities charged 22 fraternity brothers with hazing crimes connected to the death of a northern illinois university freshman. 19-year-old david bogenburger died after taking part in a drinking ritual. his blood alcohol level was 0.8. and michigan rescue crews rushed to save a man who fell 30 feet inside a water tower. the man suffered two broken arms and a broken nose but was hoisted safely out of the tank

after spend two hours inside. in sports, victor cruz on shooting victim jack pinto. cruz wrote jack pinto's name on his shoes calling him my hero after the game he talked about how he felt. >> it was emotional, man. i was fighting back tears to do it. it felt good to honor a family that was going through so much. no words to describe the type of feeling you get when a kid idolizes you so much that they want to unfortunately put him in the casket with your jersey on. i can't even explain it. >> and 6-year-old jack pinto was buried on monday in his victor cruz jersey. his family and friends gathd ga to say good-bye. and nba observed a moment of silence for all of the victims. on "monday night football" titans and jake locker's first

touchdown of the season in a game filled with mistakes. final, titans, 13-10 over the jets. in the nba, houston's jeremy lin led the return to madison square garden with a 109-96 victory over the knicks. >> a football autographed by the new heisman trophy winner johnny manziel was given to bush 41, former president george h.w. bush as he incorporates in a hospital. and the heisman winner was on with jay leno last night. he said he hopes to keep the heisman trophy next to his bed. now for another look of the weather, here is bill karins with the weather channel forecast. i guess that football made the former president feel a bit better. >> thank goodness i didn't watch that jets game last night. that was ugly. good morning. talking about ugly, rain this morning covering the map all through new england. give yourself extra time, providence, hartford, boston, all areas along the mass pike. even new hampshire and vermont, rare that you are getting a soaking rain in the middle of the night this time of year. but there's no cold air around.

only the mountainous areas of maine will get snow out of this. today's forecast, we already cleared out the rain. we should get sunshine in here. it will be a warm day before that cold front moves through. temperatures in the 50s, near 60. the warmest day for a long time. even in new england, we will be watching the rain exiting during the day. the next storm is on its heels. this will be a big winter storm heading for denver late tonight and tomorrow in the central plains as we go throughout wednesday and thursday. that could even be a blizzard in areas of kansas. winter is showing up, just not in the eastern half of the country. >> thank you very much for that. now we have some breaking news to report. an iraqi official tells the associated press that iraqi's president has suffered a stroke and a medical team is working to stabilize him. more on this story as it becomes available. smoothes, lifts, defies?

red jars are all the same right? wrong! you need three uses of a $15 cream to equal the moisturizing power of one use of regenerist microsculpting cream. seems not all red jars are created equal. olay regenerist.

progresso. in what world do potatoes, bacon and cheese add up to 100 calories? your world. ♪ [ whispers ] real bacon... creamy cheese... 100 calories... [ chef ] ma'am [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

jal . some international news today, north koreans celebrated the one-year ann visit of kim jong-un taking power with a big rally. j kim jong-un was like you shouldn't have. >> the white house announced it has no plans to prosecute marijuana users in states where the drug is legal because they have "bigger fish to fry." when they heard that, stoners were like, wait, phish is in town? >> channing tatum is topping off a blockbuster year with a big announcement. the "magic mike" star and his wife announced they're expecting the birth of their first child next year. kelly clarkson with big news herself. she's engaged.

after some pleading from her fans, she sent out a picture of her huge yellow canary engagement ring. monday night contestants and coaches from "the voice" paid tribute to the newtown school shooting. ♪ hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah ♪ and finally, celebrities from all over are wishing the world a happy holiday. >> hello everyone, i'm scarlett johansson. i'm wishing you a happy holidays. >> happy holidays. >> merry christmas, everyone. >> i'm wishing everyone out there a happy holiday. >> i'm san samuel l. jackson. wishing you a merry christmas. >> happy holidays, everyone. >> so i mean, but the camera doesn't celebrate christmas. merry christmas from matt damon. >> a gratuitous excuse to look

at beautiful people. >> it was. kyra nightly's was interesting. sam jackson was entertaining. >> for sure. i'm mara schiavocampo. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned, "way too early" starts right now. since 1994, there have been 70 -- these are just school shootings. 70 -- 70 episodes of school shootings in the united states since 1994. after the brady bill was passed. president obama was in connecticut last night speaking to a high school gymnasium as part of a memorial service. he said some things. no single law no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless ability of violence in our society, but that can't be an excuse for inaction. so right there, i feel better. it can't be an